Hoops: Nittany Lions Jump to No. 13 in AP Top 25

Penn State made a major jump in this week's Associated Press Poll, moving up nine spots to No. 13 overall. The Nittany Lions moved up more than any other team in the poll this week.

The leap in the rankings follows one of the biggest wins in the program's history. On Tuesday, Penn State defeated Michigan State, 75-70, in East Lansing. Senior Lamar Stevens had 24 points and seven rebounds that evening, while sophomore guard Myreon Jones contributed 20 points and five assists. The win was also the first time in the program's history that Penn State won five straight games against Big Ten opponents.

The Lions followed that up with an 83-77 win over Minnesota at home Saturday. Once again, Stevens led the team in scoring with a career-best 33 points. With Jones absent from the game due to illness, Izaiah Brockington was the second leading scorer, contributing 10 points.

Saturday's win, which came in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center, moved the Nittany Lions to 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten. Penn State is tied with Illinois for second in the conference. The Illini come to the BJC in eight days from now. Pat Chambers and his team will travel Purdue for a game tomorrow evening (6:30 p.m ET/BTN) before hosting last place Northwestern at home (12 p.m. ET/BTN) on Saturday.

Following the loss to Penn State and another loss at Michigan over the weekend, the Spartans have now fallen out of the AP Top 25 entirely. Tom Izzo's squad would be ranked No. 26, receiving 124 votes.

Maryland remains the top-ranked team in the Big Ten at No. 9 overall. Iowa is ranked No. 21, followed by Illinois at No. 22.

Below is the complete AP Top 25 ranking for the week of Feb. 10.

1) Baylor

2) Gonzaga

3) Kansas

4) San Diego State

5) Louisville

6) Dayton

7) Duke

8) Florida State

9) Maryland

10) Seton Hall

11) Auburn

12) Kentucky

13) Penn State

14) West Virginia

15) Villanova

16) Colorado

17) Oregon

18) Marquette

19) Butler

20) Houston

21) Iowa

22) Illinois

23) Creighton

24) Texas Tech

25) LSU

Others receiving votes: Michigan State (124), Rhode Island (57), Northern Iowa (44), BYU (43), Arizona (34), Purdue (27), Ohio State (14), Cincinnati (6), Stephen F. Austin (6), Michigan (3), Rutgers (2), East Tennessee State (2), Virginia (2), Winthrop (1), Wright State (1)

Dropped from rankings: Michigan State (16), Arizona (23)

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